Top 5 Essential Items for Your Organization’s Network Security Checklist

The advancement of technology not only results in greater functionality and efficiency but also imposes various security risks.

Over 70% of breaches were caused by outsiders, 45% involved hacking, 86% were financially motivated, 17% involved some form of malware, and 22% featured phishing or social engineering.

Conducting a network security audit might be daunting but safeguarding your company’s data is essential for protecting your reputation and confidential information. You must frequently review your network security practices to keep them updated with the most recent network security threats and solutions.

To make things simple for you, we’ve created a brief security and audit checklist to keep your organization protected from cyberattacks. This checklist includes tips and tricks to guide you through key areas of IT security that must be focused on by your enterprise.

1. Policies/Rules:

To help secure your network, there are a few policies that every company should have. These include an

• Acceptable Use Policy
• Internet Access Policy
• Email and Communications Policy
• Network Security Policy
• Remote Access Policy
• BYOD Policy
• Encryption Policy and
• Privacy Policy.

2. Vulnerability scanning:

• Set vulnerability scanning software to scan your entire external address space once a week.
• To ensure that no one has enabled an unauthorized service or linked a malicious host, check differences from one week to the next against your change control procedures.
• Do a monthly internal scan to examine that no rogue or unmanaged devices are present on the network and that all fixes are current.

3. Backups:

• Regular backups are crucial for network security. Create a backup schedule and stick to it. Taking daily backups is recommended, but the frequency may vary depending on your network’s needs.
• It’s a good idea to keep copies of your important data in multiple places just in case one of the copies gets lost or damaged. This way, you can still recover your data even if something happens to one of the backups.
• Manual backups are time-consuming and prone to human error. Implement automated backup solutions to back up your network data at a scheduled time.
• It’s not enough to create backups; you should also test them regularly to ensure they can be restored. Conduct test restores at least once a year to ensure your backups are working as expected.

4. Remote Access:

• Set up and maintain an approved method for remote access and grant permissions only to authorized users.
• Use two-factor authentication to secure remote access further.
• Regularly review your remote access audit logs and investigate any unusual patterns.
• Set strong account lockout policies and enforce internal name resolution only.

5. Wireless Networking:

• Ensure an SSID that cannot be easily associated with your company and its broadcast.
• Use WPA2 Enterprise encryption and never use WEP.
• Establish a guest network for visitors but do not permit connectivity to the internal network.
• Create a “Bring Your Own Device” policy prohibiting personal devices from connecting to the office or VPN.

Be proactive when it comes to business,

Securing your network is crucial for protecting your business from threats. It may seem like an overwhelming process, but it should be your top priority. Avoid doing all this by yourself as safeguarding sensitive information is complex. Our experts provide 365-degree security for your enterprise. Let us build a strong defense system for you.

You are pushing your company to cyber attacks by not enabling proper network security. Get complete protection with just one click. Contact Avasoft and safeguard your business.